Company Loves Misery: The Gift of Evoken Part 2
Endless Metal Podcast - We're constantly listening to metal in all its glorious forms !Show Notes
In the second part of our interview with Vince Verkay, drummer and co-founding member of death doom legends Evoken, we talk about recording the new album. After nearly 2 decades since the band's Shadows of Night Descending record, the band return to the studio to work with guitar legend and sound engineer extraordinaire, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. Next, we move to an ingenious top 3 list discussion created by Markisan: "When I listen to Evoken I am often transported to hauntingly immersive worlds. I get lost in the sinister tendrils of atmosphere that the band unravels in every song. They tear open passageways to dark and forgotten places, and conjure experiences and feelings both imagined and real. Their music is so sweeping and cinematic that it often reminds me of great film scores, which made me think about the movies I love. So, with that in mind, I think the right question for the countdown is: What 3 films had a significant impact on us emotionally and creatively, and why?" A really great and extended discussion of our top 3 films follows!! So sit back and enjoy a Toppling Goliath King Sue full-bodied, 8.2 ABV hazy double IPA. The brewery describes this awesome beer as "a citra-hopped with a juicy combination of mango, orange, and pineapple flavors finishing with a grapefruit aroma and ferocious bite." Music at the beginning of this episode is from the song "Schadenfreude" from Evoken's most recent album Hypnogia released on Profound Lore Records in 2018. At the end, we hear from the title-track to Evoken's classic album The Antithesis of Light released on Peaceville Records in 2005.
More from Endless Metal Podcast - We're constantly listening to metal in all its glorious forms !
Ben and Markisan talk with Eric Searle and Jeremy "Bumpy" Weeks from the Atlanta-based progressive sludge metal, post-hardcore band PALACES! Eric and Bumpy discuss how they got into heavy music, reveal how the sludge scene developed in Atlanta and remember Mastodon's Brett Hinds with a few stories about him over the years. They also chat about injecting science fiction vibes into their music, the joy of making noises, 90s band love and creating their fantastic 3rd full-length album, Sunhunting, with Mastodon's Bill Kelliher, who produced it. Plus, we each select a favorite album that pushed metal to majestic new heights and expanded the structures of heavy music. In other words, albums worthy of a PALACE! Visit https://palacesloud.com/ for music, merch and more from the band.
Ben and Markisan count down their Top 30 Metal Albums released between January and June! In Part 2 of the epic two-part discussion, they rank their Top 10 favorite records at midyear, then share some honorable mentions and a few favorite EPs. Plus, thoughts about what the second half of 2026 might hold for all things metal.
Ben and Markisan count down their Top 30 Metal Albums released between January and June! In this 1st part of an epic two-part discussion, they share their thoughts on how 2026 is shaping up so far, then rank their favorite records, from number 30 to number 11.
Ben, Jeff and Markisan celebrate one of their all-time favorite bands - Neurosis!* They discuss how the music of Neurosis came into their lives and what it has meant to them over the years. They also talk about the recent reformation of the band with former Isis vocalist/guitarist Aaron Turner and how the new record has impacted the metal universe. Then, they dig deep into the extraordinary Neurosis discography, ranking all 12 LPs (with nods to the Sovereign EP and Jarboe collab) and analyzing the riffs, experimentations, emotion, energy and influence of each album. Welcome to Neurosisology, where all structures collapse, mysteries unfold. *Also check out our awesome long-form dialogue from June 22, 2023 with Neurosis's Steve Von Till! THANK YOU to Evoken for allowing us to use a section from their song, The Last of Vitality, as our opening theme song!
This episode we welcome Lindsay, host and creator of The Heavy Metal Journal on YouTube and writer for The Moshville Times! Lindsay talks with Ben and Markisan about how she discovered metal through VH1 music videos in Scotland, what made her fall in love with history and mythology, why The Undertaker was the person she wanted to be most when she grew up, and how her love for sharing cool shiny things turned into one of our favorite metal shows. We also count down the top 3 metal albums that can fire us up on a Monday morning and help us face the work week ahead! Check out The Heavy Metal Journal on YouTube and follow Lindsay's metal adventures on Instagram at @theheavymetaljournal. Check out Ben's 9 hour+ Exploding Alarm Clock Radio Playlist for a jamming and riff heavy hard rock rock and metal Monday morning wake up THANK YOU to Evoken for allowing us to use a section from their song, The Last of Vitality, as our opening theme song!